Hair clips such as claw clips, jaw clips, barrettes, etc. come in different sizes and are typically worn in the hair for different styling solutions. Conventional hair clips include two body members that are pivotally coupled together by a spring-biased hinge. One common consumer frustration is that when a claw clip is worn the hair can get caught in the hinge mechanism, particularly in the torsion spring commonly used in hinges of conventional claw clips. Another common complaint among typical consumers is that the exposed torsion spring is aesthetically displeasing because it can be readily seen when the hair clip is worn.
In an effort to solve these problems, others have developed the concealed hinge spring mechanisms of U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,354,307 and 5,842,482. Each of these patents discloses a hair clip including a concealed hinge spring mechanism having a spring casing with an end notch through which the spring is inserted into the casing. These patents disclose solutions that conceal the spring in the hinge mechanism to some benefit, but none has proven to be entirely satisfactory.
Accordingly, it can be seen that needs exist for improved hair clips that are less likely to entangle the user's hair and are more aesthetically pleasing when worn in the hair. It is to the provision of solutions to these and other problems that the present invention is primarily directed.